The 2d fl at 42 E 12 St is a long-and-narrow full floor condo loft (90×25 ft, roughly; Property Shark shows sizes as 1,760 sq ft) that has been on the market ‘only’ since September, but what a price history there has been!

The early momentum was impressive: starting at $2.5mm on September 5, a quick drop to $2.3mm on September 13, then a busy October (at least for price changes): $2.1mm on Oct 2, $1,999,999 the next day, and $1.99mm the day after that (a series of miscommunications between seller and agent or between agent and listing data??).

The current price of $1.75mm has been in effect since November 27. Looks as though they had at least one offer as a contract went out last week, but it is “back on the market” as of yesterday at $1.75mm.

I am not sure I have ever seen a price history quite like this one.

funky condo building finances

It is set up as a 2 BR + 2 bath, with the classic high ceilings (11.5 ft), huge windows and open plan, in a building with new lobby, halls, elevator and roof deck that has some funky finances. Common charges are a hefty $2,415, though the agent notes (a) the CCs may come down in 2009 and (b) a portion “may” be deductible (never heard of that in a condo before).

But the most interesting numbers are the six price changes since September. The inter-firm listing data says (I will spare you the CAPS) “Serious seller – will entertain all offers!” The holidays are upon us, yet this seller has not had to do much entertaining so far…. Good luck, folks!

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UPDATE 12.20.06: turns out they did not need my luck, as the listing data has been updated to reflect that they went into contract yesterday, off of the $1.75mm asking price.

Guess they will only be entertaining family and friends for a while (until they close). Congratulations to Paula Allan at Sotheby’s!

About the guy at Manhattan Loft Guy

Sandy Mattingly has been Manhattan Loft Guy since March 2006. The Guy thinks out loud in real time on The Blog about the loft niche in the Manhattan residential real estate market, often via a post about a specific loft that recently sold, how the transaction fits into market trends, what is interesting (weird!) about the loft, and how that sale fits into past sales in the building. Perhaps the most unusual resource is unique to Manhattan Loft Guy: a Master List of downtown Manhattan lofts that have sold since November 2008 from $500,000 to $5,000,000. Now a Licensed Associate RE Broker with The Corcoran Group (as “Charles M. Mattingly” at 524 Broadway, NY, NY 10012), the content, opinions, errors (real-time blogging is sometimes not pretty), and snark are all his (scroll down for the disclaimer).

Of course, The Guy’s day job is helping buyers and sellers one-to-one and he can be reached most easily at Sandy.Mattingly@corcoran.com, Sandy@ManhattanLoftGuy.com or 917.902.2491, and followed on Twitter and FaceBook (see buttons, coming, above). In real life, he’s bought and lived in lofts in developing Manhattan residential areas going back to “Tribeca” in 1981 (back in the day, indeed) and believes in service. He’s been on the board and head of the parents association of one of the largest NYC private schools, chair of the pastoral council of his Chelsea parish, and lay trustee of that parish; currently he sits on the board of a 501(c)(3) social outreach mission, serves on the alumni council of his alma mater, and is proud to be a kidney donor (you can’t take it with you: see donation information here).

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